Triangle Tactical Podcast and Blog on Guns, Gear, and Competition Shooting
I got in line at the Dixie gun show at the Raleigh fairgrounds today with the intention of being one of the first in line, as I usually am. I arrived at about 8:05am, 55 minutes before the show opens at 9:00, and there were already about 100 people in front of me in line.
Once we got in, I went straight over to the EAR-Inc booth, and had Mr. Lenny Khan install some sound filters into my earplugs that he made for me the last time the Dixie came to town. Two of the guys that came to the show with me also had some plugs made. Lenny is quite the character, and always has some good conversation when stopping by his booth.
After getting my earplugs tinkered with, I made a mad dash around the building looking for a 500rd case of Wolf .223, but none of the big ammo vendors had any. It did seem that everyone had a good bit of 7.62×39, and lots of cases of assorted handgun ammo. Ammo prices were up about 5-10% more than the last Dixie show it seemed.
I stopped by Quantico Tactical, to have a look at their wares, as they are generally the only vendor at the show that sells quality AR-15 parts and accessories. This was true today, as just about every other vendor selling AR parts, was selling junk. Quantico had nice stuff as usual, lots of goodies from Magpul, Troy, LMT, etc. Good guys, who seem to know their stuff.
There were a couple older gentlemen with a table near the front covered with old black powder rifles and pistols. Everything had a sign next to it saying “Do not touch”. Nothing had a price tag, of gave any indication that it was for sale. I’m not sure of they were just showing off their collection or what, but I found it strange.
The Jerky guy was back this time around, it was good to see him, although I didn’t buy any jerky. Nice guy though, and I always check to see if he has any “Sweet, hot and smokey” jerky, its my favorite.
Village pawn was back as usual, and they had a huge setup with what was probably the largest display of guns at the show. I was excited to see that they had some of the new FDE Glock pistols. These are a little different color than the old FDE, and they look really nice. I must have one.
The guy who usually sets up near the back with all the overpriced magazines was back. They were still way overpriced as usual.
Speaking of magazines, I was looking for some more GI mags with the tan follower. I usually pick them uo for under $8 each, but it seemed most everyone wanted $12+ for them. I didn’t end up buying any.
Overall handgun prices seemed a little higher than what is usually seen as every day prices at area gun shops. For instance, I was seeing S&W M&P pistols for $550 to $599, when a local store, Lawmens in Raleigh generally sells them for around $400. I seems like a lot of people just assume that the dealers are marking items down for the show, when in fact, it seems they are marking them up.
Anyways, I definitely got my $7 worth just walking around and people watching. I bought a couple witty Pro 2a stickers from a vendor, and the filters for my earplugs, and that was it. I don’t have any plans to go back tomorrow, but if anybody finds any good deals, make sure to let us all know what you found in the comments section below. Overall prices were a little higher than what is normally seen at Raleigh gun stores, so I’m not sure why anyone was buying guns…
